The Top 5 New Features in Mac OS X 10.9.2

Apple's update of Mac OS X 10.9 is most important for security, but it add some user enhancements, as well.

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The big news with Apple's Mac OS X 10.9.2 update is a fix for the so-called "goto fail" flaw could let an attacker on the same network as a victim eavesdrop on all user activity.

Cupertino took heat for not being quicker to protect its users from gotofail, and it was especially surprising since the company had fixed the same bug in iOS 7 several days earlier. But in addition to security fixes, the Mavericks update brings several new tweaks to end-user features, too.

As with all Mac operating system installations these days, you get OS X 10.9.2 through the Mac App Store, which starts up after you run Software Update from the main top-left Apple menu.

1. FaceTime audio calls. iOS 7 users should know that they can now use FaceTime for audio-only discussions rather than just video calls. Why would they want to do this? Because it can save airtime charges for those who may have limited air minutes in their cell service; especially if the devices being used are connected to Wi-Fi. This also means audio calls are possible between devices only connected to Wi-Fi, such as a MacBook and a Wi-Fi-only iPad or iPod touch. And sometimes you just don't want to provide your fellow caller with visuals!

FaceTime audio calls feature the same distinctive ring as video calls, so the first time you make one of these calls, your contact may be puzzled. FaceTime audio is part of a move to an all-data world of communications, where VoIP services replace traditional cell calls.

Another FaceTime-related improvement is support for call waiting in FaceTime, since your iPhone friends may all want to see you at the same time.

2. Google Apps Mail (and other Gmail features) now works! When Mavericks launched, a lot of Google Apps Mail users were dismayed to see that their email wasn't showing up in Apple's excellent Mail client. This is another case of "why so long?" but Apple has finally fixed the issue, and users of the search giant's webmail can now take advantage of the Mavericks mail client's great design, offline operation, notifications, and powerful search. Other Gmail settings and syncing like that for Archive mailboxes and labels are also fixed in the OS update, and general stability of Mail has been improved.

3. Block iMessage users. Any messaging system that's tied to your phone number and or email address is prone to spam or unwanted messages. The OS X 10.9.2 update now lets you block iMessages from individual senders you specify.

4. VoiceOver improvements. Apple's screen-reading and speech-control feature now works more reliably in Mail, Finder, and in navigating websites—Facebook in particular. The accessibility feature now also doesn't trip over reading emoji-aka smilies.

5. Safari improvements. The browser's AutoFill capability should now work with more websites, and the browser now works more reliably when an authenticated Web proxy is being used. The Web is rife with discussion forums calling out Safari for an inability to authenticate to proxy servers, so this update should make a lot of IT-types happier.

For the full list of new features in Mavericks OS X 10.9.2, head to Apple's support page for the update. For an in-depth look at PCMag's Editors' Choice operating system, read our review of OS X 10.9 Mavericks.

Michael Muchmore is PC Magazine’s lead analyst for software and Web applications. A native New Yorker, he has at various times headed up PC Magazine’s coverage of Web development, enterprise software, and display technologies. Michael cowrote one of the first overviews of Web Services (pretty much the progenitor of Web 2.0) for a general audience. Before that he worked on PC Magazine’s Solutions section, which in those days covered programming techniques as well as tips on using popular office software. Most recently he covered Web...
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